When does peak growth in female height occur? & bull; hello healthy

Adolescence is a period of transition from children to adults. In adolescence or puberty there is a peak in height growth. This means that this period is the second fastest growing period of height after the baby. Girls' height actually happened before she got her first menstruation (menarche).

Girls peak in height before their first menses

Growth spurt (growth spurt) in children occurs when the child begins to experience puberty, lasts 24-36 months. At this time, the child experiences a very fast growth in height before finally the child's height stops at a certain point. In fact, growth in height at puberty can add up to about 20% of a person's final height.

For that, you as a parent should know when your child starts to enter puberty. This is done so that you can support your child's growth optimally, with the hope that your child can reach their optimal height.

In girls, the first signs of starting puberty are when their breasts begin to enlarge, followed by hair growth around the pubic area and armpits. At this time also the girl's height has started to increase, but has not yet reached its peak.

The peak of growth in girls occurs approximately 2 years after girls begin to enter puberty. Or, some theories also say that the peak growth of girls' height occurs 6 months before girls get their first menstruation (menarche). This time may vary a lot between girls depending on the many factors that influence it.

However, it is clear that the peak in height growth for girls occurs before girls menarche. At the peak of height growth, girls can reach an average height of 9 cm / year. If a girl's height growth is optimal at puberty, the girl can increase her height by about 23-28 cm.

How can parents support a child's height growth?

To get the optimal height gain at puberty, girls need an environment that supports their growth. At this time, parental factors are very influencing. You as a parent can do the following things to support the child's growth.

1. Make sure the child gets adequate rest

Children need more sleep than adults because it is during this sleep that the child's body gets the opportunity to increase its growth rate. Sleep time for children varies based on age. According to the National Sleep Foundation, children ages 6-13 need 9-11 hours of sleep and 14-17 year olds need 8-10 hours of sleep.

2. Give children nutritious food

Because the child's body grows rapidly, the nutritional needs of the child also increase. In addition, the child's metabolism also runs faster, making the child's appetite increase and the child often feels hungry, this can be a sign that the child's body is growing rapidly. At this time, give children a balanced diet, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals can help children achieve their optimal growth.

3. Encourage children to do sports

Continuously motivating children to always move and do regular exercise can help children gain a healthy weight and improve their health and fitness. In addition, regular exercise can also support the growth of bones and muscles of children. Children can also sleep longer and sleep better when they do regular exercise.

4. Do not compare with the growth of other children's bodies

The growth in height between children varies in time and speed depending on various factors that influence it. There are children who have experienced fast growth at an earlier time and there are also children who experience slower growth at a slower time. Therefore, as a parent you should not compare the growth of children with their peers, this will make children feel worse off or vice versa. Not being in the same physical growth stage as their peers can make children feel difficult and anxious, which is not good for supporting children's growth.